FREE REPORT FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO FEEL YOUNG AGAIN:

Breakfast is quite literally the meal meant to “break the fast” from all the hours you spend sleeping, and skipping it is known to cause a slew of bad chain reactions throughout the body.

One of the most common reasons people skip breakfast is because they’re just not hungry in the morning. If you can relate, try to start small with a liquid shake or healthy smoothie, keeping your dinner smaller, and cutting back on alcohol or snacks right before bed.

For a healthy breakfast, most people will do best eating a combination of protein and good fats first-thing in the morning—like eggs and avocado, both of which keep you satisfied for longer and help prevent low blood sugar fluctuations. Most experts suggest eating between 300-500 calories for breakfast, ideally within an hour or two after waking up. Homemade breakfasts tend to be healthier.Meals eaten in restaurants are usually significantly higher in total calories and hydrogenated fats, but lower in percentage of calories from protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber than those eaten at home.

Watch the liquid calories, which include fruit juices or sweetened coffee drinks. These are usually packed with sugar, providing little to no fiber, protein and complex carbs to keep you fuelled. If you are going to include carbohydrates with your breakfast, make it a low-glycemic kind like berries, plain rolled oats, sprouted whole grain bread, or sweet potato hash browns. And for the most part, avoid muffins, bagels, scones, and some packaged granola bars. They may seem healthy, but they’re more like dessert than breakfast.

Need more inspiration to make a habit of eating a morning meal? Just click through to find out exactly what happens in your body when you skip breakfast.

Your blood sugar drops

Research shows that eating breakfast helps restore glycogen and stabilizes levels of insulin. If you don’t replenish your glucose stores in the morning, it’ll leave you feeling overly hungry, cranky and fatigued. (Yes, being “hangry” is a real health problem.) These low blood sugar symptoms are the first thing you’re likely to experience from fasting all-night long.

Your metabolism slows

There’s evidence that an early meal can stoke your metabolism and encourage your body to burn more calories throughout the day. When you fast for too long, your body goes into protection mode, and begins to store as many calories as possible (think bears preparing for hibernation). As a negative double whammy, when your metabolism slows, it can turn to the glucose stored in your muscles as a backup fuel source, effectively wasting away your muscles.

Your stress hormones skyrocket

Breakfast has a positive effect on cortisol, one of the primary “stress hormones” produced by the adrenal glands. Cortisol has many functions including helping the body use sugar (glucose) and fat for energy and managing stress. Normally cortisol levels are highest about 7 a.m., so this is when it’s important to eat something in order to bring them back down. If cortisol levels remain elevated, you’re likely to feel anxious or jittery.

Your heart takes a hit

Regularly skipping breakfast can make you more susceptible to weight gain and increase your risk for heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. In fact, a 16-year long Harvard study of nearly 27,000 men aged 45-82 years old found that those who skipped breakfast every day were 27 percent more likely to experience heart attack or die as the result of coronary heart disease.